1+ hour, 22+ min ago (189+ words) Red Bull's Max Verstappen admits he was surprised by McLaren's calls in the Qatar Grand Prix as he took victory, ensuring the drivers championship will be decided in Abu Dhabi. "This was an incredible race for us," Verstappen said. "We made the right call there as a team to box under that safety car, and that was smart. Super happy to win here. We stay in the fight "til the end. Entering the pits from ahead of Lando Norris during the early safety car period, Verstappen says he realized he was in the box seat as soon as he returned to the track. "I was like, "That's an interesting move,'" he said. "I knew that then we had a bit of a gap, but still you need to keep the tires alive for 25 laps as well. The wear is very…...

13+ hour, 13+ min ago (502+ words) Carlos Sainz describes his third place at the Qatar Grand Prix as his proudest day for Williams, as he secured his second podium in his debut season with the team. Williams confirmed fifth place in the constructors" championship as a result of Sainz"s finish at the penultimate round, as the Spaniard"s second-half resurgence continued. The Spaniard scored 48 of his 64 points in the past seven races, starting with a podium in Azerbaijan that he then matched in Qatar. "Baku was a bit of a relief because I"d had such a difficult 10 races," Sainz said. "I was very quick in the first few races, but always things happening to me. No results coming my way. One of those seasons. "I think in the career of an F1 driver, you always have years where, for some reason, things don"t come…...

16+ hour, 13+ min ago (1018+ words) Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix and slashed his championship deficit to just 12 points after a strategic miscue from McLaren left Oscar Piastri second and title leader Lando Norris fourth. Piastri got the perfect start from the clean side of the grid to sweep comfortably into the first turn with the lead, but Norris, starting second and from the grid's dirty side, was swamped by Verstappen from third. Verstappen pulled alongside Norris through the second phase of the launch and held out along the McLaren's outside through Turn 1 to deprive the title leader of second place. The lead battle held static in the early laps, but a battle between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly for ninth set the race on a different trajectory. Hulkenberg had immense pace and cruised around Gasly's outside at the first turn, but they came…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (533+ words) Oscar Piastri took a crucial pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, beating Lando Norris in second and Max Verstappen in third. Williams released Sainz's car from the garage and as he drove out into the pit lane, his rear tires pulled up the stickers from the floor of the garage, wrapping them around the rubber. The stickers came off after three corners, but once the first runs were complete the sessions was halted to clear the debris from the track. When running resumed, Norris ran wide at Turn 2 and had to abort his lap, leaving the door open for Piastri to put it all together to take pole position by 0.108s. Given the difficulty overtaking in Qatar, it's a crucial result, with a victory for Norris enough to give him the title on Sunday. Verstappen was struggling for pace at…...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (408+ words) Austin Prock has been an instant success in the NHRA Funny Car ranks since transitioning over from Top Fuel. In the latest edition of RACER Debrief, he explains some of the differences between the two ... Piastri tightens up title fight with crucial Qatar GP pole Norris refutes Verstappen's championship claims, citing Red Bull's "aggressive nature' Ex-Penske chief Cindric taking time to ponder opportunities in and out of motorsports Piastri rekindles title hopes with dominant Qatar Sprint win ShareThis is disabled until you accept Social Networking cookies. Austin Prock on handling a 13,000 hp Funny Car: "It's always driving you and you're just along for the ride' Austin Prock has been an instant success in the NHRA Funny Car ranks, winning world championships his first two seasons with John Force Racing since transitioning from Top Fuel. In the latest edition of RACER…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago (736+ words) Sebastien Ogier (above) secured a record-equaling ninth FIA World Rally Championship title on Saturday as Thierry Neuville won a bruising Rally Saudi Arabia to close the 2025 season. Ogier started the three-stage final day in sixth place on the leaderboard, just one position ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Elfyn Evans and holding a provisional two-point advantage in the championship battle. But a decisive charge on the penultimate, 20.43-mile Asfan stage saw him climb to to third overall in his GR Yaris Rally1 and put the title firmly in his grasp. A measured run through the bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage, the 10.18-mile Thahban 2 test, sealed the championship for Ogier, drawing the 41-year-old Frenchman level with compatriot Sebastien Loeb's all-time WRC title record. The result also delivered a maiden world title for co-driver Vincent Landais, who first called pace notes for Ogier…...

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (809+ words) At its traditional Night of Champions in Stuttgart, Porsche presented an overview of its 2026 motorsports activities, along with its roster of works and contracted drivers for the upcoming season. This includes confirmation from Porsche that the manufacturer will participate in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, at least in the LMGT3 category, with the newest evolution of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. WEC will be one of several high-profile GT series that the new 992.2-generation GT3 R participates in, including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, GT World Challenge and DTM. However, Saturday night's ceremony and press release issued by Porsche did not mention any customer support for the 963 prototype in the WEC's Hypercar class, with only a few days until the 2026 entry list is due to be published. Porsche's factory racing efforts for 2026 will consist of its factory-run Porsche Formula E Team, as well as customer…...

1+ day, 18+ hour ago (544+ words) Oscar Piastri did what he needed to keep his world championship hopes alive with a decisive victory in the Formula 1 Sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix. The McLaren driver beat George Russell by 4.951s but delivered a faster lap than any of the points scorers on the final tour, demonstrating he still had pace in hand. Polesitter Piastri got away well to escape Turn 1 unchallenged, while fellow front-row starter Russell faced an early challenge from Lando Norris which he was able to resist. Behind them, fourth-placed starter Fernando Alonso was bested by Yuki Tsunoda off the line, with the other Red Bull of Max Verstappen also getting by on the entry of Turn 2. Verstappen continued to progress, passing Tsunoda by Turn 3. Those would be the positions in which the top five would remain for the rest of the race, with Piastri…...

2+ day, 2+ hour ago (650+ words) Oscar Piastri says the Qatar Grand Prix weekend has clicked for him so far after taking pole position for the Sprint race, with Lando Norris in third and Max Verstappen only sixth. Norris can become world champion this weekend as he holds a 24-point lead over his two title rivals, but it was Piastri who topped a qualifying session for the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August. The Australian says the key to his result was hitting the ground running in FP1, going on to secure Sprint pole by just 0.032s over George Russell. "It's been a good day, which is nice for a change," Piastri said. "Just a day where things have clicked from the start and the Sprint qualifying session went really well. Pretty big moment on my lap, but was just enough in…...

2+ day, 3+ hour ago (522+ words) Oscar Piastri edged George Russell in qualifying for the Sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix, marking his first P1 start in any format since the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Championship leader Lando Norris qualified third, while Max Verstappen struggled to sixth. Verstappen and Norris led SQ1 and SQ2 respectively on medium tires, but Piastri was quicker immediately upon the switch to softs in SQ3, taking provisional pole ahead of Norris by 0.044s. Russell started the second runs and rotated into top spot by improving his first lap by 0.441s, putting pressure on both McLaren drivers to respond. Piastri was the third-last car on track when a "lively" snap at Turn 4 put him at risk of missing pole, but fastest times in the second and third sectors put him back into top spot, beating Russell by 0.032s with a new track record of 1m20.055s. When Norris failed to…...